University of California

Positive Light, Inc.

Coherent, Inc.

Genoa Corporation

Frank Godwin Patterson

Jeremy Weston

William Eugene White

Leigh John Bromley

Robert J Deri

Jeffrey D Walker

Sol P Dijaili

Sol Peter DiJaili

William D Goward

Holly E Petersen

An efficient, powerful and reliable system for amplifying optical pulses. Seed-pulses are generated by a seed-pulse source and are transmitted to an optical amplifier for amplification. The power for the amplification is provided by a Q-switched, diode-pumped, intracavity-doubled pump laser.

System and method for amplifying an optical pulse and pumping laser therefor

A broadband semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) device includes at least two gain-clamped SOAs having different spectral responses. The gain-clamped SOAs are coupled so that the broadband SOA device has a spectral response which is not attainable by any one of the gain-clamped SOAs. The gain-clamped SOAs may be coupled in different ways. For example, they may be coupled in parallel, in series, or in another different and/or more complex ways. In one implementation, the gain-clamped SOAs are vertically lasing semiconductor optical amplifiers.

Broadband gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifier devices

A highly heat conductive layer is combined with or placed in the vicinity of the optical waveguide region of active semiconductor components. The thermally conductive layer enhances the conduction of heat away from the active region, which is where the heat is generated in active semiconductor components. This layer is placed so close to the optical region that it must also function as a waveguide and causes the active region to be nearly the same temperature as the ambient or heat sink. However, the semiconductor material itself should be as temperature insensitive as possible and therefore the invention combines a highly thermally conductive dielectric layer with improved semiconductor materials to achieve an overall package that offers improved thermal performance. The highly thermally conductive layer serves two basic functions. First, it provides a lower index material than the semiconductor device so that certain kinds of optical waveguides may be formed, e.g., a ridge waveguide. The second and most important function, as it relates to this invention, is that it provides a significantly higher thermal conductivity than the semiconductor material, which is the principal material in the fabrication of various optoelectronic devices.

Thermally robust semiconductor optical amplifiers and laser diodes

An efficient, powerful and reliable system for amplifying optical pulses. Seed-pulses are generated by a seed-pulse source and are transmitted to an optical amplifier for amplification. The power for the amplification is provided by a Q-switched, diode-pumped, extracavity frequency-doubled pump laser.

System and method for amplifying an optical pulse using a diode-pumped,

System and method for amplifying an optical pulse and pumping laser

System for amplifying an optical pulse using a diode-pumped, Q-switched,

The polarization dependence of optical wavelength filters is eliminated by using waveguide directional couplers. Material birefringence is used to compensate for the waveguide (electromagnetic) birefringence which is the original cause of the polarization dependence. Material birefringence is introduced in a controllable fashion by replacing bulk waveguide layers by finely layered composites, such as multiple quantum wells using III-V semiconductor materials. The filter has use in wavelength-division-multiplexed fiber optic communication systems. This filter has broad application for wavelength-tunable receivers in fiber optic communication links, which may be used for telecommunications, optical computer interconnect links, or fiber optic sensor systems. Since multiple-wavelength systems are increasingly being used for all of these applications, the filter is useable whenever a rapidly tunable, wavelength-filtering receiver is required.

Polarization-independent optical wavelength filter for channel dropping

A low-noise optical amplifier solves crosstalk problems in optical amplifiers by using an optical cavity oriented off-axis (e.g. perpendicular) to the direction of a signal amplified by the gain medium of the optical amplifier. Several devices are used to suppress parasitic lasing of these types of structures. The parasitic lasing causes the gain of these structures to be practically unusable. The lasing cavity is operated above threshold and the gain of the laser is clamped to overcome the losses of the cavity. Any increase in pumping causes the lasing power to increase. The clamping action of the gain greatly reduces crosstalk due to gain saturation for the amplified signal beam. It also reduces other nonlinearities associated with the gain medium such as four-wave mixing induced crosstalk. This clamping action can occur for a bandwidth defined by the speed of the laser cavity. The lasing field also reduces the response time of the gain medium. By having the lasing field off-axis, no special coatings are needed. Other advantages are that the lasing field is easily separated from the amplified signal and the carrier grating fluctuations induced by four-wave mixing are decreased. Two related methods reduce the amplified spontaneous emission power without sacrificing the gain of the optical amplifier.

Growing community of inventors

Danville, CA, United States of America

Frank Godwin Patterson